Mourning, war and elections in the third year since Hamas attack

Israel marked the third anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Wednesday with silent tributes, new strikes on Gaza and intense political debate, weeks before elections in which the country's deadliest day will be front and center.

At the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn on Oct. 7, 2023, family members bowed their heads quietly -- although at least one instead put on techno music in tribute to the fallen.

Both at Nova and the Kfar Aza kibbutz, another site of mass killings three years earlier, AFP reporters heard loud bangs from across the border in Gaza during the commemorations as Israel carried out new strikes, despite a ceasefire officially in place for the past year.

Gaza officials said five people were killed in strikes in the territory, most of which has been reduced to rubble in relentless bombing in retaliation for the worst attack ever against Israel.

At the Nova site, Katia Zohar, whose daughter Bar Zohar was killed at age 23, called the start of the attack at 6:29 a.m. "the minute that changed our lives forever."

"Sadly I remember everything," Zohar said. "The moment she called for me to come and pick her up because there were missiles in the air. Then the second time when she called from the road, screaming that they were shooting at her." Anna Davitashvili, 53, paid tribute to her eldest son Shaun, who was killed aged 25 at Nova alongside friends, by playing the last track of techno music that the partygoers were dancing to when the attack began.

"I feel him here. I'm terribly sorry that I couldn't save him, I couldn't help him get out of this massacre," she said, tears filling her eyes.

In the evening in a Tel Aviv park, a memorial ceremony organized by survivors and bereaved families included songs, tributes and videos, drawing a crowd of several thousand.

The event, broadcast across Israel's major television channels, was co-hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi, who lost his wife and two daughters in the attack and whose brother was killed in Gaza captivity.

"Tonight, we embrace the memory of those murdered and those who fell in battle, and we embrace those who were wounded and still bear the scars," he said.

Israel's main opposition candidates were in attendance, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's principal rival Gadi Eisenkot.

On Oct. 27, Israel will hold elections for the first time since the attack, with polls showing a tight race for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in three years has ordered the massive offensive in Gaza and fought wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Iran, whose cleric-run government backs Hamas.

At the Nova site, Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister seeking to oust Netanyahu, told reporters of the attack, "This was a colossal failure of the state of Israel, which was established to defend Jews in our land." The center-left Democrats Party put online footage of the attack, without commentary.

"A government that for three years has not destroyed Hamas's rule is a government dangerous to Israel," Democrats leader Yair Golan said.

Netanyahu lit a memorial candle at his office in Jerusalem.

"On this day, the people are united in remembrance and longing for our loved ones," he said in a statement, adding: "We will complete the mission: we are here and we will hold all the murderers to account."

US President Donald Trump said he'd spoken to Netanyahu, calling Oct. 7 "a horrible tragedy."

"The other side is paying a very big price for what they did on Oct. 7, believe me," he told reporters as he left the White House.

Hamas was defiant on the third anniversary, issuing a statement, calling Oct. 7 "a glorious day of our people's history" and "a natural response to, and culmination of, decades of bitter suffering."

On Oct. 7, Palestinian fighters breached the border, storming southern Israel with gunfire, rockets and grenades.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also dragged 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of them already dead.

Israel's military offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. (AFP)